Earth mount assembly



June 1970 s. c. LUEBKEMAN ,5

EARTH MOUNT ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. {5. 1969 I N VEN TO R George 6' Laeb/(emarz United States Patent 3,517,470 EARTH MOUNT ASSEMBLY George C. Luebkemau, Truis Products, Inc., 32 Porter St., Cloves, Ohio 45002 Filed Jan. 3, 1969, Ser. No. 788,831 Int. Cl. E02d /80 US. Cl. 52-157 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An earth mount for a vibratile device cOmprising a hold-down plate and an earth anchor, the plate being positioned above the base of the device and having a number of base engaging expansile springs connected to its underside, and a mechanical leverage means on the anchor adapted to apply hold-down pressure upon the plate to firmly set the base upon the earth.

This invention relates to an earth mount assembly and is particularly directed to a portable device comprising two parts which cooperate when assembled to insure a firmly set earth mount for the bases of outdoor vibratile devices, such as target traps, basketball stands, or the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a rugged, yet simplified device that may be assembled and set up on the earth in a minimum of time to expedite the placement and removal of a portable vibratile device such as a basketball stand or a target trap.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a portable earth mount having the foregoing characteristics, two cooperative parts susceptible of ready placement on the earth and which cooperate to produce a stabilized mount for target traps, or the like, which, in operation create intermittent vibrations.

Other objects will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference numerals indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmental, side elevational view of one form of my earth mount assembly; a basketball hoop stand being shown as exemplary of the kind of vibratile device which may be positioned upon the earth with said assembly.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged and fragmental, side elevational view of the earth mount assembly shown in FIG. 1; the hoop stand being shown in section,

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged, fragmental section like FIG. 3 showing a detail of my invention.

FIG. 5 is a fragmental, side elevational view of a modified form of my earth mount assembly that may be used to position a conventional target trap base upon the earth.

FIG. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

With particular reference to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings the earth mount depicted therein is associated with a base member 10 set upon the earth 11 and having a vertical hole 12 therethrough. The subject earth mount is particularly adapted to continuously apply hold-down, resilient pressure upon the base member for a vibratile device of the character disclosed in my co-pending patent application, Ser. No. 660,275, filed Aug. 14, 1967 on Earth Mount Assembly for Target Traps. A vertical standard 13 is positioned centrally upon the base membet and carries a bracket 14 at its upper end which in turn positions a horizontal hoop 15 that serves as a basket used in the game of basketball. A number of ropelike strands 16 may be hung from the hoop 15 to indicate by their displacements that a basket had been made by a ball entered through the hoop from above. Considerable vibration is set up in the stand when basketballs hit into or around the hoop especially when the balls are thrown at the hoop from a distance during play. This vibration causes the base to move or walk laterally upon the earth, especially when the surface has a loose consistency. The stand is held firmly in place by my earth mount, assembly, indicated generally in the drawings by the reference numeral 17.

A first part for the earth mount assembly comprises a movable hold-down plate 18 disposed above the hole 12 formed in the base member 10 and located in spaced relation with the base member for movement toward and away from it. As best shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings the hold-down plate is in the form of a substantially square metal stamping 19 having a lateral opening 20 formed in one edge 21, the plate being reenforced by a continuous, down-turned flange 22 formed around its marginal edge.

An expansile coil spring 23 is mounted on the underside of the plate in each of its corners, and as best shown in FIG. 4, a pair of slits 2424 is formed in the plate at each corner and the plate material between the pair of slits deformed downwardly to provide a mounting slot through which the upper end 25 of the spring 23 extends. The said spring end is fixed in the slot as by peening the edges of the slot over the spring end, or the like.

A bearing plate 210 identical in construction to the hold-down plate 18 is connected at each of its corner portions to the lower end of a spring 23 by a connection like that illustrated in FIG. 4; it being noted with reference to FIG. 2 that the bearing plate 210 is in contact with the base member 10 and has its continuous flange 220 turned upwardly, the lateral opening 200 therein being in vertical alignment with the opening 20 in the hold-down plate 18. The bearing plate functions to tether and hold the lower ends of the springs 23 in a permanent, spaced apart relationship.

The mount part described hereinbefore is adapted to cooperate with a second earth anchor part generally indicated in the drawings by the reference numeral 26, said part comprising an upstanding shank 27 adapted to be fixedly imbedded in the earth 11 through the expedient of turning it on its axis with downward pressure by a handle 29 fixed to its upper end; a screw member or auger 30 (FIG. 1) being fixed on its lower end which upon rotary mOvement of the shank advances itself and the shank into the earth.

A mechanical leverage means is connected to the holddown plate to compress the expansile springs 23 and comprises external threads 31 formed on the shank which are engaged by the internal threads of a nut 32 manually rotatable by a lever arm 33 integral therewith.

The upper threaded end of the shank 27 is disposed in the closed end portion of the lateral slot 20 in a position centrally of the four springs 23 (FIG. 3) to provide a balanced hold-down device, it being noted that the nut 32 has a diameter greater than the width of the slot 20 so that it may bear downwardly on the plate 18; the lower ends of the springs 23 being in engagement with the bearing plate 210 which in turn bears upon the base member 10 at portions thereof around and adjacent the hole 12 therethrough.

To firmly set the base 10 upon the surface of the earth 11 the screw member 30 on the shank 27 of the second earth anchor part 26 is first entered through the hole 12 in the base and then by manually turning and bearing downwardly upon the handle 29 the earth anchor will be screwed to its earth imbedded fixed position against axial displacement. The nut 32 is then turned to the upper end of the shank 27 and next the hold-down plate 18 and its attached springs 23 and bearing plate 210 of the first part is moved longitudinally relative to the fixed anchor to enter the shank 27 into the slots 20 and 200 to assume the positions shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. The nut 32 is then manually turned down upon the plate by means of the lever 33 until the proper tension is built up equally in the springs 23 which transmits balanced downward holding pressure on the base member 10 to firmly position said base up on the earth for playing the game of basketball. Removal of the earth mount is accomplished by a reversal of the above assembly steps it being understood that the mechanical leverage means is turned upwardly on the anchor shaft to release the spring pressure on the base, the hold-down plate and attached springs and bearing plate 210 is next moved off the base and lastly the anchor is unscrewed from the earth.

With reference to the modification illustrated in FIGS. and 6 of the drawings the hold-down plate 180 is V- shaped in plan and embraces the shank 27 of the earth anchor. Three expansile springs 37 are connected to the underside of the holddown plate 36 and each has its lower coil engaged upon a base member 100. The upper end coil of each spring 37 is connected to the underside of the hold-down plate 180 by a conventional connector (not shown). The mechanical leverage means for compressing the springs is a manually rotated nut 32 threaded to the shank 27 and bearing against the upper face of the holddown member 32 around the inside corner of said memher.

It Will be noted with respect to FIG. 6 that a spring 37 is mounted on said V-shaped plate 180 at the end of each leg and at the intersection of said legs, adjacent springs 37 being spaced apart on the plate an angular distance of substantially 120 with respect to the axial center of the shank 27 of the earth anchor to provide a well balanced hold-down plate for the assembly. The base member '100 has an opening therein in the form of a slot 120 that opens out into one end thereof and receives the shank 27 of the earth anchor after the anchor is screwed into the earth by the expedient of sliding the base on the ground toward the anchor in a direction to enter the shank into the slot. The base 100 is preferably in the formof a wooden frame that is T-shaped in plan and has mounted on the end opposite the hold-down (not shown) a conventional target trap devised to throw clay birds into the air by a releasable spring actuated arm for target shooting purposes.

The steps followed in assembling and disassembling the earth mount shown in FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings is substantially followed with respect to the modified form thereof illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 with obvious differences depending upon the mechanical parts of each earth mount,

What is claimed is:

1. An earth mount assembly comprising a base member adapted to be set upon the earth and having a vertical hole formed therethrough, a hold-down plate disposed above the base member for movement toward and away from said base member, said hold-down plate having a lateral opening formed in an edge portion thereof, an earth anchor having an upstanding shank adapted to be fixedly imbedded in the earth against axial movement, said shank having an upper end projecting from the earth and through the hole in the base and through the opening in the hold-down plate, a plurality of expansile springs mounted on the underside of the hold-down plate, said springs being interposed between the base member and the hold-down plate and having their lower ends bearing down upon the base member at portions adjacent the hole therein, and a mechanical leverage means connecting the shank with the hold-down plate and adapted to move the holddown plate downwardly and hold the expansile springs in compression.

2. An earth mount assembly like claim 1 wherein the hold-down plate is V-shaped in plan and a spring is mounted on said plate at the ends of each leg and at the intersection of said legs, adjacent springs being spaced apart on the plate an angular distance of substantially with respect to the axial center of the shank.

3. An earth mount assembly like claim -1 wherein the hold-down plate is substantially square in plan and a spring is mounted on said plate in each of the corner portions thereof, adjacent springs being spaced apart on the plate an angular distance of substantially 90 with respect to the axial center of the shank.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,737,543 11/1929 Mason 151-38 1,746,978 2/ 1930 Winkler.

2,374,309 4/ 1945 Roxs 151-38 2,725,843 12/1955 Koski 85-62 3,067,846 12/ 1962 Luebkeman 52-157 3,135,365 6/1964 Hayhurst 52-161 3,179,082 4/1965 McClean 85-62 3,268,199 8/1966 Kordyban et al. 248-350 3,399,857 9/ 1968 Schultz 248-350 FOREIGN PATENTS 299,776 1919 Germany. 1,045,068 6/ 3 France.

MARION PARSONS, JR., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

